Dan Torpey of Louisville is a teacher and a woodcarver who creates whimsical moving sculptures called automata. Examples of his work can be seen at his company web site, Barking Dogs Automata.

Artists Statement

I have always been interested in kinetic art workincluding animation and whirligigs. I first saw paper automata on the Internet and ordered several. I loved their whimsical nature. I started to make some but found the paper too flimsy. I had the idea to make them out of wood instead, and made my first automaton over a year ago. It was a cat.

Since then, I have developed my own unique automata, mostly inspired from my environmentsuch as our year-old kitten, our 12-year-old cat, and my relationships (with my wife and friends). I love humor and have found that anyone who cranks one laughs or chuckles ... then does it again.